WVTK Local & State News – December 4, 2017

Green Mountain Power and groSolar looking to build a 4.99-megawatt solar array at the junction of Route 7 and Greenbush Road in Ferrisburgh. The two companies are expected to file to the Vermont Public Utility Commission for a Certificate of Public Good this month. The array could generate enough power to take care of 1,300 homes.

The Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition (VAHC), a state leader in housing policy, research and advocacy, today issued the following statement on the tax bill recently passed by the US House of Representatives and under consideration in the Senate: At a time when Vermont already has a shortage of 10,866 affordable homes for extremely low income renters and the 5th highest affordability gap for renters in the country, the pending tax proposals would eliminate tax credits and financing tools that have helped create thousands of affordable apartments in our state and made homeownership more affordable for thousands of Vermonters.

Health officials are already warning that this flu season could be a bad one. The CDC says the virus is hitting faster than usual with cases already spiking in some regions of the south. There were zero states with high flu levels this time last year. To make things worse, the National Institutes of Health says this season’s vaccine may only be 10 percent effective against the severe strain of flu. The CDC is reporting hundreds of new flu cases every week. They fear those numbers could keep climbing right through the holidays.

Two suspects are facing charges in connection with a robbery at the Charlotte ferry dock last year. Richard West and Tiera Herron are accused of holding two security guards at gunpoint and spraying them with pepper spray. West and Herron are both charged with robbery and assault. West is free on bond, while Herron faces court today after failing to post 75-hundred-dollars cash bail.

Ferrisburgh Selectboard meets tomorrow night at 6:30. On the agenda, the selectboard will discuss employee Health Insurance Costs, possible locations for a proposed solar array, and a copier upgrade proposal. There will also be an update from the Vermont Green Line Committee.